1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention relates to radio telecommunication systems and, more particularly, to a method and system for automatically setting up a call at a selected time in a radio telecommunications network.
2. Description of Related Art
Many people today are very busy, leading complicated and full schedules. Additionally, some people must place important calls at specific times of the day. Because of the complexity of people's schedules, they require some form of reminder of their planned daily activities. Typically, activities are written down in a notebook to remind a person of specific activities at specific times. However, there are several disadvantages to using a notebook to remind the person of specific activities. Although the activities are written, there is no alarm to alert the person that an impending activity is required. A person can still forget to look at the notebook, or become distracted by other events and completely miss the planned activity. Additionally, the activity may involve placing a telephone call at a specific time. The notebook again cannot alert the person to place the phone call. The person must still remember to make the telephone call.
In addition, there is a widespread growth of radio telecommunications services providing many useful services to mobile subscribers. It would be advantageous to have a system and method which automatically initiates calls to a specific telephone number at a predetermined time and warns the mobile subscriber of the call connection. A system and method is also needed which notifies the mobile subscriber of an impending activity. Although there are no known prior art teachings of a solution to the aforementioned deficiency and shortcoming such as that disclosed herein, prior art references that discuss subject matter that bears some relation to matters discussed herein are U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,146 to Tanaka et al. (Tanaka), U.S. Pat. No. 5,504,804 to Widmark et al. (Widmark), United Kingdom Patent Number GB 2,306,276 to Nam (Nam), and U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,683 to Nazanin et al. (Nazanin).
Tanaka discloses a radio telephone system which includes a base unit connected to a wired telephone line and a radio telephone set connected to the base unit through a radio link which has a function of automatically calling another telephone set at intervals of a predetermined time. Tanaka does not teach or suggest a system or method for automatically placing a call at a specific time. Tanaka merely discloses a system which repeatedly calls a specific number until the other party answers the call. Tanaka does not provide for automatically calling another number at a specific time nor does Tanaka provide any alerting function to inform a person of an impending activity.
Widmark discloses a method of call routing based on a subscriber's service information stored in a home location register (HLR) in a radio telecommunications network. The subscriber makes a call to another person (called the B-party) using a short number service. Short number service enables the subscriber to use a short number to call the B-party roaming within the radio telecommunications network. Widmark does not teach or suggest a system or method for automatically placing a call to another party at a specific time, nor does Widmark disclose an alerting function to inform the subscriber of an impending activity.
Nam discloses a method for automatically placing a call which is implemented within a mobile telephone. The user of the mobile telephone must press a communication reservation registering key on the mobile telephone and then enter the telephone number of the person to whom he wishes to speak and the time at which he wishes to speak. The telephone number and time are displayed and stored in a memory in the mobile telephone. A control unit located within the mobile telephone periodically checks the memory to see if a communication reservation has been made. If a communication reservation has been made, a timer within the mobile telephone determines if the reserved time has arrived. If the reserved time has arrived, the mobile telephone automatically places a call to the reserved number. However, Nam requires the modification or replacement of existing mobile telephones in order to perform the automatic call function. Nam does not teach or suggest a system or method for automatically placing a call to another party at a specific time without extensive modifications to a user's mobile telephone.
Nazanin discloses a method of reminding a user to place a call and dialing the specified telephone number when the user desires to place the call. The user inputs a specific time and telephone number into his mobile telephone. At the specified time, the mobile telephone signals the user by displaying the telephone number and emitting a noise through a speaker in the mobile telephone. Upon viewing the displayed telephone number, the user can cancel the call or confirm placement of the call to the telephone number by pressing a key. If confirmed, the mobile telephone dials the telephone number. Nazanin requires the modification of the mobile telephone itself. Additionally, the specified telephone number is not automatically dialed without the user's confirmation at the specified time. Nazanin does not teach or suggest a system or method for automatically placing a call at a specific time without major modifications to a user's mobile telephone.
Thus, it would be a distinct advantage to have a system and method providing a warning function within a mobile station to remind a subscriber of an impending activity. Additionally, a system and method are needed which automatically initiates a call to a specific telephone number at a designated time within a radio telecommunications network without requiring extensive modifications to mobile telephones.